The Escambia Gators pushed their score all the way to 62 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell just short of Choctawhatchee by a score of 65-62. While losing is never fun, Escambia can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 446th, while Choctawhatchee is ranked 215th).
When it comes to explaining why Escambia lost, one person who can't be blamed is Tae Gaston. Despite the final result, he scored 15 points along with seven rebounds. Gaston also posted two blocks for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Tayshaun Gilcrist, who scored 16 points along with seven rebounds.
Robert Spells was his usual excellent self, scoring 21 points along with six rebounds for Choctawhatchee. That's the first time this season that Spells scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Chris Pitts, who scored 12 points.
Escambia's defeat ended a four-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 4-6. As for Choctawhatchee, the win was the fifth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 5-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Escambia will square off against Tate at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Tate has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 315 points over their last five matchups. Choctawhatchee is on the road again on Friday and play against Crestview at 7:00 p.m. on December 15th. Hopefully Crestview focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 on Tuesday.
